Use of the deep subsurface in the UK: what are the Implications for groundwater resources?
11th July 2018 to 12th July 2018
Organised by: British Geological Survey, Hydrogeological Group of the Geological Society of London, International Association of Hydrogeologists, British Chapter.
The conference conveners were delighted to welcome nearly 90 delegates to this conference on the risks to groundwater from the use of the deep subsurface in the UK.
With renewed and increasing interest in the use of the deep sub-surface (below 200m) for a range of industrial operations, there is need to ensure that the risks to groundwater are fully considered. Although exploration and exploitation of the deep sub-surface is not new, previous activities have not historically always been well regulated and managed and have left us with a legacy of contamination in the UK. A significant example of this is coal mining.
The problems arising from past activities have driven significant improvements in UK environmental protection legislation, the development of good practice and, as a result, some of the best-protected groundwater in the world. Further, the UK’s experience has strongly supported development of EU-wide legislation including the Water Framework Directive and Groundwater Directive.
However, new activities such as unconventional hydrocarbon (shale gas/oil) extraction, potash mining, deep geothermal energy, radioactive waste management and carbon dioxide storage bring new challenges for groundwater protection.
To effectively assess and manage the risks to groundwater from these activities we require a far better understanding of natural hydrogeological conditions (physical, chemical and biological) at depth and the hazards and potential impacts associated with the different activities. This presents unique challenges as we currently have little information on relevant sub-surface properties due to the difficulty in accessing, measuring and/or retrieving information from the depth required.
This problem is common to all activities and so it was important to make sure that we considered the range of deep activities that might impact groundwater within the conference. Too often activities are looked at in isolation and the opportunity to share experience, knowledge and information is missed. Further, there is a risk of ‘reinventing the wheel’ and regulation being inconsistent between industry sectors. We must avoid this if activities are to proceed safely, the public be reassured and economic growth promoted. We therefore encouraged all sectors to be involved and so the meeting included experience from all the key industrial sectors, regulators, and UK and international researchers. The aim was to share experience in order to identify the different challenges that need to be addressed to ensure that groundwater and the wider environment is protected now and for future generations.
We are very grateful to Envireau Water, Geomatrix Earth Science Ltd, In-Situ and MDPI (Water Journal) for sponsoring the event. We are also grateful to our invited speakers Kevin Parks (Alberta Energy Regulator, Canada), Irina Gaus (Nagra, Switzerland), Avner Vengosh (Duke University, USA) and Sarah Scott (Environment Agency, England) for sharing their experiences, and our panellists James Dodds (Envireau Water), Sally Thompson (Radioactive Waste Management), Irinia Gaus and Avner Vengosh for a stimulating panel discussion. We would also like to thank the organising team at the British Geological Survey and the Geological Society of London for hosting the event. Finally, our thanks to delegates and presenters for supporting this event.
Rob Ward, Sian Loveless, John Bloomfield — British Geological Survey (BGS)
Tim Besien, Mike Rivett, Ian Davey — IAH — GB Chapter
Barnaby Harding, Sarah Scott, Stefan Krause The Geological Society — Hydrogeological Group
Ulrich Ofterdinger — Queen’s University, Belfast
Fred Worrall — Durham University
Resources:
- Abstract Booklet
- Characterising the Deep Subsurface: What can we understand from single well tests?
- Assessment of Hydraulic Properties of Analogous Scottish and Lithuanian Devonian Sandstones
- Thermal Waters of the UK
- The Sheer Project: Outcomes for groundwater and best practice in relation to unconventional gas
- Sensing Technology for in-situ Detection of Dissolved Methane and VOCs in Groundwater
- Hydrostratigraphy and Artificial Groundwater Bodies
- When is the use of Deep and Shallow Subsurface Safe?
Posters:
- Use of Brine Production to Increase CO2 Storage Capacity and Security
- The UK Geoenergy Objectives
- Wastewater from Hydraulic Fracturing
- Produced Water and Brine Management during Shale Gas Production